I probably receive at least one e-mail a day, encouraging me and explaining to me how to network. Tweet this and smile at that! If I don’t do it, I should consider myself a fool, my business model sucks, and I should go back to cleaning the floors….or at least that’s how you are meant to feel.

The way out is to join whatever is being offered and see the light. At least I will have the benefit of losing the weight of another few dollars from my bank account.

Well, there is another method to network. In technical jargon, it is called the “bleeding obvious” method. It is available to all of us of us, all the time. And I recently discovered the trick, on my doorstep in Israel.

Here’s what I mean.

First, in former days, I belonged to a youth club. Not the most active member, still I was around for years. Well, it seems that many of us are now living in Israel. In fact, we had a get-together about a month ago; 400 people of all ages and backgrounds.

The event was 100% a social occasion. But if you listened carefully and dropped in on conversations, you could hear people talking about work, employment and other such issues. We were networking, without even realising it, and it was fun.

Last week, I organised a supper for former pupils of my school, who are now living in Israel. I had collated a list of 25 names, and many turned up – even with a few spouses. Again, a fun evening, but with plenty of accidental networking.

All of us are part of social groups, and not just from current activities. And whilst we should not be explotive, they can be put to extensive commercial use. This is not being cheeky or rude. There is no need to use twitter. Just talk and communicate with people.  After all, that is why humans developed language skills in the first place!

On Israeli railways, this form of networking has reached new heights. For example, if you take the morning train from Bet Shemesh to Tel Aviv, it is known that the last 2 carriages are only for those who wish to pray. They have their own “club”.

And yesterday, the train from Haifa to Beersheba hosted “speed meeting”. The train was full of small business execs, who had deliberately boarded to introduce themselves to like-minded people. Everyone was delivering one-minute speeches on themselves. A dynamic, high speed event.

Simple. Networking means talking – conveying a message. The rest is commentary. Just go and find the right forum for you to do it.